If I Die Young
by Shaelynn Stark
Summary: AU. Phil Coulson had a daughter. But, that daughter was killed in the line of duty one year ago. However, Adannaya Coulson is back-not just to reunite with her father. But, also to warn him. A newborn army is moving in. Can Adannaya convince her father to stand down in order to save his life? R&R!
1. If I Die Young

**If I Die Young**

**Disclaimer:  
**As always, I own nothing. (Except Adannaya Coulson...And, Charissa Coulson.)

**Rating:  
**T (Just 'cause I'm paranoid.)

**Genre:  
**Romance/Hurt/Comfort/Family

**Pairing(s):  
**Grant/OC (Grant/Adannaya)  
Skil (Skye/Phil)  
Most-if not all-cannon _Twilight _pairings

**Lyrics Used:  
**Little Big Town "If I Die Young" (as performed by the cast of _Glee _'cause I like their version better)

**Summary:  
**Basically, Phil had a daughter who was killed in the line of duty-or _so he thought_. As luck would have it, Dr. Carlisle Cullen was there when Shaelynn Coulson was "killed" and took her home with him & turned her into a vampire. A year, later, Shaelynn's back-with the Cullens in tow-to protect her father & his new team of operatives-as well as the rest of the human race-against a rising army of newborn vampires.

**Author's Note:  
**I'm taking just a _weeee_ little bit of creative license to adapt the lyrics to this particular story. (Just changing "Lord, make a rainbow | I'll shine down on my mother | She'll know I'm safe with you when she stands under my colors … Ain't even gray, but, she buries her baby" to say "Lord, make me a rainbow | I'll shine down on my **father** | **He'll **know I'm safe with you when **he **stands under my colors … Ain't even gray, but, **he **buries **his **baby".

* * *

If I Die Young

* * *

_If I die young | Bury me in satin | Lay me down on a bed of roses | Sink me in the river | At dawn | Send me away with the words of a love song | Uh oh | Uh oh_

_Lord make me rainbow, I'll shine down on my mother | She'll know I'm safe with you when she stands under my colors oh, and | Life ain't always what ya think it oughta be | Ain't even gray but she buries her baby | The sharp knife of a short life | I've had just enough time_

* * *

Skye stood in the door way of her boss's office as she watched him studying a photo in his hands. It was a picture she'd seen a few times, before. The simple, wooden, frame held a photo of a beautiful, young, woman who bore an eerie resemblance to a young, female, Coulson-or 'A.C.', as she preferred to call him, no matter how much he tried to resist. Every time he tried to insist she call him either 'Agent Coulson' or 'Coulson', she always saw a unique glimmer in his eyes every time she called him 'A.C.'. So, he was stuck with it-whether he liked it or not-though, she was fairly sure, he liked it...at least a little bit. After watching her boss a moment longer, she silently entered the office and strode up, next to him. "She's really beautiful." When Skye spoke, her voice soft and almost reverent. She could tell that, whoever this woman in the picture was, she was important to Phil. As such, she deserved respect. "Who is she?" She wondered, softly, looking up at her A.C.

Anyone else would have been startled by Skye's sudden appearance at his side-particularly, at such a private moment. But, Phil Coulson was a veteran special agent. He was trained to detect the presence of those he couldn't actually see. Plus, as they continued to work together, he'd found himself growing closer to the young field operative-in-training. From the moment he'd first laid eyes on her, he'd felt a strange sensation blossoming in his chest-one which he'd desperately tried to ignore. Phil wasn't an idiot. He knew exactly what that sensation was and it was completely inappropriate for him to harbor those sorts of feelings toward someone so young. Hell, she wasn't _that _much older than his daughter...well, than his own daughter _would _have been. "Her name was Adannaya. Adannaya Coulson." That surprised Skye, but, she sensed that her friend and mentor had more that he wanted to say, so, she remained silent. That, and, she was still trying to figure out the meaning behind the tremor in Phil's voice. "She was my daughter." And, now, she was metaphorically bowled over.

"Wow..." Skye breathed, truly at a loss for words. "I-...I don't know what to say...That's a beautiful name...And, _she's _beautiful...Why haven't you ever told us you had a daughter?" She wondered. However, the moment the words left her mouth, she realized that it could possibly be a sensitive topic and, therefore, one she shouldn't have brought up. "Un-Unless, you don't wanna talk about it...Which is totally fine...I really shouldn't have pried..." She stammered as she tried desperately to backtrack.

Allowing himself a small smile at Skye's clumsy attempt to smooth over a faux pas she hadn't even committed, Phil replied "It's quite all right. And, thank you. She _was _beautiful. So much like her mother. Actually, it was her mother who picked the name. We had just returned from an op in Africa a couple of months before she learned she was pregnant with Adannaya. The name 'Adannaya' means 'her father's daughter' in Igbo." Phil spoke, ending on a hollow, humorless chuckle. "Unfortunately, Charissa was killed in action when Adanaya was just a toddler. So, she never got to see just how fitting Adanaya's name really was." Skye noticed the smirk that ghosted over Phil's face as he spoke of his daughter. "I just never brought her up, because I've been trying to stay absorbed in my work and in working with you all." Phil admitted. "The truth is, Adannaya was killed in the line of duty-just like her mother was-just over a year ago. Today would have been her twenty-fourth birthday." Skye couldn't take her friend's pain, anymore. For once, she wasn't looking at Agent Coulson or Coulson-or, even, A.C. She was looking at Phil. And, frankly, she liked him. She liked him more than she really should. Especially considering his late daughter would only be a couple of years younger than her.

But, she couldn't bring herself to think about that, right now. Before she really thought about what she was doing, she gently squeezed Phil's shoulder in her right hand as her left applied the same gentle, reassuring, squeeze to Phil's forearm. "I honestly don't know what to say, right now..." Skye admitted, desperately racking her brain for any words that could possibly bring her friend and mentor any form of comfort she could. "But, I'm sure wherever she is, she's seen everything you've managed to accomplish since her death. I'm sure she's just as proud of you as I am." She spoke with a soft smile playing across her face as the last part drew Phil's gaze away from the photo in his hands to her own eyes. "As we all are..." She breathed as she realized their faces were mere inches apart.

* * *

"_If I die young, bury me in satin  
__Lay me down on a bed of roses  
__Sink me in the river"__  
_

* * *

Phil and Skye were both startled out of their brief moment as they each registered the soft sound of a young woman singing. Skye had to admit that the voice was rather beautiful-almost enchanting. Meanwhile, Phil was stunned. He knew he'd know that voice anywhere. However, he just never thought he'd ever hear it, again.

* * *

"_At dawn_  
_Send me away with the words of a love song_  
_Uh oh Uh oh_"

* * *

"Adannaya..." Phil breathed. Just then, the voice became louder as Phil and Skye both whipped around to see the woman from the photograph standing before them in the doorway to the office. She continued singing as if nothing had changed as she crossed the room to stand on the other side of Phil, wrapping his arm around his shoulders as she sang directly to him.

* * *

"Lord, make me a rainbow, I'll shine down on my father  
He'll know I'm safe with you when he stands under my colors, oh, and  
Life ain't always what ya think it oughta be  
Ain't even gray, but, he buried his baby  
The sharp knife of a short life  
Well, I've had just enough time"

* * *

"You were there..." Phil breathed, utterly awestruck by the song that his daughter-whom he'd believed to be dead up until now-had walked into his office, singing.

"She was where?" Skye asked, at a loss as to what was going on. _This isn't what I _think _it is...Is it?_ She wondered as she was seriously considering that Coulson's dead daughter was actually standing right in front of them.

"That was the song we played at Adannaya's funeral." Phil explained. "She always said it was the perfect description of her attitude toward her job and the lifestyle in general." Releasing a light sigh, he added "She never _was_ afraid to die young in the name of the job."

"Well, you and I both know that's the only way to be any good at it." Adannaya spoke with a small smirk playing across her face. "Right, dad?"

"How is this even possible?" Phil asked, breathless with sheer awe. "What the hell's going on, here, Addie?" He begged, desperate for answers.

"Well, dad..." Adannaya began, choosing her words, carefully. "There's really no easy way to say this-_definitely_ no way to say this without sounding absolutely insane-but...I'm a vampire." She stated, finally.

"I'm sorry..." Skye began, her anxiety manifesting in a bout of involuntary nervous laughter. "You're never gonna _believe _what I thought you just said...I thought you just said you were a vampire!"

"No, you heard right." Adannaya replied, speaking as if it were perfectly normal. "While I was on assignment in Forks, Washington, something had gone awry and my mission had been compromised. My dad kept insisting that I pull out and return to HQ immediately. But, I was too damn stubborn to listen." She admitted, while recollecting the story of how she'd been stripped of her mortality. I was engaged in a gunfight with the enemy. Unfortunately, the enemy had a sniper in their ranks that I hadn't known about. They stuck a bullet in my chest and left me in the woods for dead."

Skye couldn't believe what she was hearing. Sure, she'd seen some weird stuff in her-albeit incredibly short time with S.H.I.E.L.D.-but, that was just...She had no words for what those bastards had done to Adannaya. And, it wasn't _just _what they did to Adannaya...It was the effect that their actions had on her friend and mentor, Phil Coulson. The young hacker just couldn't wrap her mind around the idea of just leaving someone for dead in the middle of the woods. "Those bastards..." She breathed, before she realized she'd even spoken.

"Fortunately, for me, this man was there in the woods when I was shot." Adannaya paused as a tall pale man with golden blonde hair and matching gold eyes walked into the office, with them.

"Okay, seriously...How many of you guys _are _there?" Skye wondered aloud.

"Just ten." Adannaya shrugged, as if it were nothing, completely missing the stunned looks on her father's and Skye's faces. "Anyway, I would like you both to meet Dr. Carlisle Cullen. Carlisle, I'd like you to meet my father, Phil Coulson..." Adannaya paused as Carlisle extended his hand to Phil who hesitated a moment before accepting the proffered hand. "And, one of his new assets, Skye." Carlisle then offered Skye the same handshake he had offered to Phil. After seeing Phil accept, Skye followed suit.

"How exactly do you know my name?" Skye wondered, nervously.

"I've been keeping a close eye on my dad ever since I was turned." Adannaya explained. "So, yes, dad...I know all about New York." She added, noting the sheepish look on her father's face. "Remember when Loki _literally _stabbed you in the back? Yeah. I was there." Adannaya couldn't have stopped the wildly mischievous smirk played across her lips as the seasoned agent's jaw dropped in sheer awe at her revelation. "Oh, don't get me wrong. _You _never knew it-you weren't meant to. But, suffice to say, that if Fury and the medical team hadn't stepped in when they did, you would have become a vampire like me, that day." As her smirk grew into a full smile, Adannaya finished with "Don't worry. I wasn't letting you go down without a fight."

"But, I digress." Adannaya spoke, again, cutting off any further distractions. "As I was saying, before...Carlisle was in the woods when I was shot. He heard the shots fired and came to see what he could do to help me." The young vampire paused to allow the man who had become her adopted/surrogate father to join the conversation.

"But, one look at her injuries and I knew that there was nothing I-or anyone else, for that matter-could do for her, medically speaking." Carlisle added, recalling the moment he had found Adannaya in the woods. "So, I took her home with me where I proceeded to turn her." Looking directly at Phil as he spoke, he added "It honestly was the only way to prevent her death. Adannaya would have been dead long before she could have gotten the necessary medical assistance."

"It's quite all right, Dr. Cullen." Phil replied, the slightest hints of a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "You did what you had to do. I'm just glad to know that my daughter's still alive."

"Well...Not alive..." Adannaya interjected, only slightly playfully. "But, definitely not dead, either." She added, trying to placate her father's concerns.

"So...What _are _you, then?" Skye asked, curiously. "_Un_dead?"

"Immortal." Adannaya corrected. "I prefer the term 'immortal'." Shaking her head, slightly, Adannaya returned to her original story. "After he turned me, Carlisle and his lovely wife, Esme, took me into their family and...really treated me as if I were their own daughter."

At that comment, Carlisle couldn't fight the urge to shoot Phil a sheepish, apologetic, glance. A glance which Phil simply returned with a small smile, letting the older doctor know that he bore no ill will against him.

"They helped me to adjust to their alternative vegetarian diet which really went a surprisingly long way toward combating my internal battle with my monster complex that I had developed once I fully understood just what I was." Adannaya admitted, her voice more serious then that it had been throughout the rest of the conversation. "It was actually what helped me to gain the confidence to come back and tell you the truth about what had happened to me the day I was 'killed'." Adannaya looked at her father with an uncharacteristically timid smile tugging at her lips. "Though, I couldn't help feeling guilty, at the same time." She admitted, guiltily. "I was the only one of Carlisle and Esme's adopted children who has been afforded the opportunity to tell my dad the truth about me."

"What do you mean?" Skye asked, suddenly fully submersed in this conversation.

"Well, generally speaking..." Adannaya began, searching for the best way to explain her answer. "Humans-such as yourselves-aren't allowed to know that vampires exist. The Volturi strictly forbid it."

"'The Volturi'?" Phil wondered, curiously. "What _is _that, exactly?"

"Think of the Volturi as..." Adannaya paused to search for the best analogy for the Volturi that a human could relate to. "Well, I suppose you could think of them as the vampire equivalent of a federal government. They make and enforce our laws. And, yes, we do have laws. But, the one that forbids us to reveal our existence to humans is really about the only one that's regularly enforced." She explained. "Anyway, as I was saying...When the Volturi find out that a vampire has revealed themselves to a human, that violation is punishable by death. Well...violation of pretty much _any _law is punishable by death." Adannaya mused.

"Harsh terms." Skye added as an afterthought.

"No arguments from me." Adannaya agreed with the young hacker. "But, what's even _worse _is that they don't just kill the vampire. They kill the human as well."

"Damn." Skye breathed.

"I thought you just said that you were immortal?" Phil wondered, curiously.

"We are." Adannaya insisted. "But, even immortality comes with limitations. The only way to kill a vampire is to dismember them, behead them, and burn the pieces." Adannaya paused to take in the simultaneous cringes from her father and Skye. "But, my point is that you guys are affiliated with S.H.I.E.L.D. And, as such, you are protected under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s treaty with the Volturi which essentially states that S.H.I.E.L.D. associates are allowed to know that we exist without fear of being killed off _provided _that they don't destroy any vampires." Adannaya explained, slipping right back into her operative mode. "So, I'm the only one of Carlisle and Esme's adopted children whose family is protected by that treaty. So, I'm the only one that gets to be totally honest with my family."

"So, why didn't you come forward, sooner?" Phil asked, his voice coming off more hurt than he had originally intended.

"I wanted to..." Adannaya admitted-dropping all of her professional defenses. "But, I couldn't let you see me as a newborn."

"A 'newborn'?" Phil asked, curious.

"'Newborn' is a term commonly used to describe a vampire during the first year of their immortality." Adannaya explained, her voice assuming her previous clinical tone before she dropped her guard again. "It's...not pretty. In the beginning, I felt like a junkie-always lookin' for a fix. I was always thirsty and I...I just didn't feel completely confident that I could control those urges if I were around you-or _any _humans, for that matter." Adannaya admitted, hating how vulnerable she felt, in that moment. "I knew I had to wait until I was one hundred percent certain that you would be safe around me. That meant waiting out my newborn year, when I had my thirst under control." She explained, silently praying to whatever deity may have been listening, at that moment-that her father would accept her explanation.

There was a tense silence in the air as they all waited for someone to speak. The tension was becoming increasingly tangible, the longer the silence dragged on. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Phil broke away from his position next to Skye to cross the room, where he proceeded to draw his daughter into his arms as he just savored the sensation of holding her, again. After the indescribably miserable year he'd had since the day he'd lost her, all of Phil's walls came crashing down in the form of the tears that soaked Adannaya's shirt-not that either of them had it in them to care. "Thank you!" He cried into his daughter's shoulder. "Thank you for coming back."

"Like I could stay away?" Adannaya asked in what she hoped was a playful voice while secretly wishing that she could cry the way her father was as she collapsed into his strong and familiar arms. Sinking into the embrace, Adannaya finally felt like she was home-as if nothing had ever changed. After savoring the embrace a few moments longer, Adannaya pulled away with a somewhat guilty look on her face. "But...There's...One other reason I came back..." She added, ominously.

"What's the reason?" Skye asked, suddenly on high alert, crossing her arms across her chest after watching the touching scene that had just played out before her.

Sighing lightly, Adannaya replied "Since I've been watching over you, I know that you're all on your way to investigate a series of strange murders in Seattle." Ever the spy, Adannaya couldn't have stopped herself from analyzing her father's and Skye's reactions if her life had depended on it. "That's why I brought the Cullens with me for my homecoming. We've been following the news reports and we know what's causing these murders."

"And?" Phil prompted, gently, waiting anxiously for Adannaya to complete her thought.

"We believe it to be the work of newborn vampires." Carlisle interjected.

"You make them sound like...little...baby vampires..." Skye mused.

"Well, not _literally_..." Adannaya corrected, her voice only slightly agitated. "But, in a metaphoric sense, yes." She explained smugly before elaborating further. "As I said before, newborns are-at the core of the matter-essentially like drug addicts. They are complete and utter slaves to their thirst-which explains the sloppiness to the kills."

"Sloppiness?" Skye asked, her voice now full with curiosity.

"What I mean by that is...Had a mature vampire-such as myself or any of the Cullens-committed these murders, you never would have even found the _bodies_-let alone any indicators to the cause of death. A mature vampire is capable of the clear, concise and strategic thinking required to cover their tracks. Newborns don't have that. They can't think-at least not about anything but their thirst."

"Okay, assuming you're right..." Skye began, processing the information that Adannaya was giving them. "That's still a _lot _of victims for just one...newborn..."

"You would be correct..." Adannaya conceded, before adding "If we were talking about just one newborn."

"How many _are _we talking about?" Phil asked, warily.

"An army." Adannaya deadpanned. Watching the horrified looks her father and Skye exchanged, Adannaya knew the full severity of the situation was settling in.

"Get the others." Phil ordered, suddenly switching from 'Phil' to 'Agent Coulson', as he directed the order to Skye who merely nodded curtly before rushing out of the office to get the rest of her teammates.


	2. Choose Your Battles

**If I Die Young**

* * *

**Disclaimer:  
**As always, I own nothing...except for Adannaya Coulson.

**Genre:  
**Family/Romance/Drama**  
**

**Pairings:  
**Grant/OC  
Coulsye (Coulson/Skye)  
All canon _Twilight_ couples

**Lyrics Used:  
**Katy Perry "Choose Your Battles"

* * *

Choose Your Battles

* * *

_Choose your battles, babe | Then, you'll win the war | Stop digging your own grave | Within, so much to live for_

_Ob, this is not a competition | So, baby, why the ammunition | I don't wanna be the last one standing_

* * *

"Dad, what are you doing?" Adannaya asked, terrified she already knew the answer.

"Well, if you're right, and there _is _an army of newborn vampires on the loose...Then, we need to get ahead of it." Phil reasoned.

"Dad, you don't understand!" Adannaya countered. "You are in so far over your head, it's ridiculous! These newborns will outmatch you at every turn!"

Whipping around to face his daughter who was following him to the conference room, Phil argued. "Yes, but, you also said that they have no capacity for strategic thinking. That gives us the advantage."

"It _would_..." Adannaya countered. "If you and your team were immortal with all of the strength and super-human speed that comes _with_ immortality."

"Adannaya, with all due respect, my team can handle it." Phil argued, hoping his daughter wouldn't fight him on this. "Just like the Avengers, yes, it takes time for them to get any traction...But, they are a hell of a lot stronger than they seem!"

"That's not the point, dad!" Adannaya cried, before calming herself when she saw her father's team gathered in the conference room, watching the exchange before them. "Look...Even assuming that you and your team _could _win the battle against newborns...Even if you _did _wipe them out...The treaty with the Volturi clearly states that S.H.I.E.L.D. and all of its associates are allowed to know about the existence of vampires _PROVIDED _they don't _KILL_ any vampires! If you get involved in this battle-best case scenario-you kill the newborns, dismantle their army only to get yourselves sentenced _to death_ by the Volturi." Pausing to take in the look on her father's face, Adannaya finished "Dad, please. I _know _you and your team have accomplished some amazing things, together. I've seen what they're capable of. But, I won't let you put yourself-or any of _them_-in harm's way. I just-I can't. I won't do it."

Phil thought about his daughter's argument. He had to admit, he knew where she was coming from. And, he truly did appreciate her concern. But, he just couldn't see how he was supposed to just stand aside and let her walk into a war without him there to back her up. Without another word, Phil turned and entered the conference room-his mind made up.

"So, what have we got?" Agent Ward asked, all business, as his boss and mentor entered the conference room.

"Who's she?" Agent May asked, her face impassive as ever, when Adannaya entered the room seconds after her father.

Beating her father to the punch, Adannaya spoke for herself. "My name is Adannaya Coulson." She spoke proudly, standing tall and prepared to hold her own.

"Coulson?" Fitz repeated, clearly confused, after Adannaya introduced herself.

"Just do you think you are, exactly?" Simmons asked, incredulously, knowing nothing of the situation that was about to unfold before them.

"She's my daughter." Phil interjected, cutting off anymore remarks against his daughter. "She's also a former field operative for S.H.I.E.L.D." He explained.

"So, what is she doing here?" May asked, still skeptical about the whole thing.

"Yes." Simmons added. "And, why have you never told us you had a daughter?" She demanded, somewhat hurt that their mentor would hide something so big from them.

"Well, to my father's defense, he's believed me to be dead for the last year or so." Adannaya cut in, always ready to come to her father's defense.

"Yes." Phil began. "And, to answer _your _question, May, Adannaya is here to offer her assistance with our latest investigation-"

"'Assistance' my ass!" Adannaya cut her father off, frustration radiating off of her in almost tangible waves. "What my father has yet to come to terms with is that the Cullens and I are taking jurisdiction over this case."

"The hell you are!" Ward countered, furious that this woman thought she could waltz into _their _headquarters and just take over their case the way she was.

"Look, I understand where you all are coming from." Adannaya began, trying to placate the team of operatives before her. "Really, I do. But, what _I _need _you_ to understand is that the series of murders you've been sent to investigate is not the work of your average serial killer. This is the work of newborn-"

"Are you seriously going to insult our intelligence by trying to tell us that _infants _are running around committing murder?!" May demanded, snark dripping from every syllable.

"Well, you have to admit...We have seen some pretty strange things..." Fitz conceded. "Would it really be that far-fetched to believe-"

"I am _not _saying that _babies _are committing _murder_!" Adannaya all but shouted in frustration. "Now, if you are all done interrupting, I will _tell_ you what is going on!" Evidently, the dark tone in her voice coupled with the murderous look on her face was enough to effectively silent the rest of the team before her. "Good. Now, as I was saying. The murders you've all been sent to investigate are the work of newborn vampires."

"Oh, come on..." Simmons interjected. "Surely, you don't expect us to believe that vampires actually exist, do you?"

"Well, if you had asked me that a year or so ago, I would have said 'Hell no!'" Adannaya conceded. She didn't expect them to just take her at her word, right away. She realized how crazy she sounded, right now. "But, now...You're actually _speaking _to a vampire."

"Are you saying what I _think _you're saying?" Fitz asked, an audible tremor of fear in his voice.

"Well, if you think I'm saying that I'm a vampire, then, yes." Adannaya spoke as if it were plain as day. "That's exactly what I'm saying." Looking around the room, she realized the team of operatives before her would need more to go on. "About a year ago, my father and I were on assignment in Forks, Washington, when the mission was compromised. Some critical intel had been leaked to the enemy and...one thing lead to another...and I was shot in the chest and left for dead in the middle of the woods."

Seeing the toll the story was taking on her dad, Adannaya rested her hand on his shoulder, reassuring him that everything was okay. "Anyway, fortunately for me, Dr. Cullen, here..." Adannaya paused to indicate the tall, statuesque, blonde man behind her. "Was present in the woods at the time I was shot. He heard the shots and came to see what he could do to save me. Sadly, one look at my injuries and he knew I would have been dead long before I could have received the necessary medical attention. So, he took me home with him and turned me." Pausing to smile appreciatively at Carlisle, Adannaya returned her focus to the team of operatives before her. "And, even after that, Carlisle and his wife, Esme, were kind enough to welcome me into their home and into their family. They helped me adapt to their vegetarian lifestyle-"

"'Vegetarian'? What does that mean?" Ward asked, genuine curiosity reflected in his voice.

"It means, Agent Ward, that we feed on the blood of animals rather than humans." Adannaya explained, simply.

"Believe me..." Simmons interjected. "This is all...beyond fascinating..." She conceded, though, May beat her to the punch of what she intended to say, next.

"But, it doesn't really answer the question of why we're here." May interjected. "Or why you think you're so much more qualified to handle these newborn vampires than we are." She deadpanned.

"Listen, you guys..." Adannaya began carefully. "I've been keeping a close eye on my dad ever since I was turned. Therefore, I've seen the things you've all accomplished in your short time as team. And, you are beyond formidable opponents." She conceded. "But, what you have to understand is that a vampire is never physically stronger than they are during their first year of immortality-their 'newborn year', as it's commonly referred to. That's because they still have their own human blood lingering in their tissues-and, as any vampire will tell you, human blood makes us stronger than animal blood. But, all of that aside, even a mature vampire would outmatch you at every turn. That's why the Cullens and I are taking jurisdiction on this one. We've dealt with a newborn army before. We can handle it, again." Adannaya reasoned.

"How can you be so sure they'll out match us?" Agent Ward countered, somewhat insulted at Adannaya's lack of confidence in their team's ability.

"Let me ask you this, Agent Ward..." Adannaya replied, a slight attitude tinging her voice as she crossed her arms over her chest. "When was the last time _you _smashed a two-ton boulder to _dust_?" She asked, raising her eyebrows as if daring him to answer. "When was the last time _you _moved faster than the speed of light?" Still, silence. "Yeah. That's what I thought." She declared, proudly, before dropping her smug smirk and unfolding her arms.

"Look, let's assume the best possible case scenario..." Adannaya began. "Let's say that you get lucky enough to destroy a newborn. The whole reason I was able to come back and tell my dad the truth about me in the first place is because of a treaty that S.H.I.E.L.D. has with the Volturi-"

"'The Volturi'?" Simmons asked, curiously.

"What the bloody hell is that?" Fitz added.

Sighing lightly, Adannaya paused a moment as she mentally search for the analogy that would best describe the Volturi in a way that the operatives before her could relate to. "Well...I suppose you could think of them as the vampire equivalent of a federal government." She replied. "They make and enforce our laws."

"Vampires have laws?" Ward snorted.

"As a matter of fact, Agent Ward, we do." Adannaya replied, pointedly. "Well...Really, only one that's regularly enforced." She amended.

"And, that would be..." May prompted.

"Don't go around bragging that you're a vampire to random humans on the street." Adannaya replied, sarcastically. "But, getting back to the matter at hand. The treaty that S.H.I.E.L.D. has entered into with the Volturi clearly states that S.H.I.E.L.D. and all of their associates have the right to know that vampires exist provided that they do not kill any vampires."

"How exactly _would _one kill a vampire, anyway?" Fitz mused.

"Aren't they supposed to be immortal?" Simmons wondered.

"It's quite a simple matter, really..." Adannaya replied, cheekily. "Simply behead them, dismember them, and burn the pieces."

"Sorry I asked." Fitz cringed.

"Anyway, as I was trying to say..." Adannaya began, trying to get back to her original point. "The Cullens and I are here to handle the newborn army for you. While you _are _a force to be reckoned with, this is one instance you are in so far over your heads, it's not even funny." She explained. "A newborn would kill you before you even realized you were dead."

"With all due respect-" May began before being cut off.

"As I was saying..." Adannaya interjected, effectively silencing May's argument. "Best case scenario...You get lucky. You destroy a newborn. Congratulations! You've just earned yourself a death sentence from the Volturi. If any _one_ of you destroys a vampire, it nullifies the treaty and the Volturi will not hesitate to kill you_ all_."

"Then, what _can _we do?" Phil asked, desperate to do whatever he could to back up his daughter.

Turning to direct her attention to her father, Adannaya replied "Look, dad, I _know _this won't sit well with you...But, I need you to let the Cullens and I handle this."

"There is no way in _hell _I'm letting you walk into a war without any back-up." Phil fired back.

"I know, that, dad." Adannaya replied, deliberately keeping her voice soft and warm in her attempt to placate her father. "But, honestly...In this case, the best thing you can do for me is to _stand down_. I can't walk into this battle, distracted by constantly worrying for your safety." She reasoned, turning her attention back to the rest of the group. "That goes for all of you. We need you all to stand down if the Cullens and I are going to be able to defeat the newborn army." Pausing for a moment, Adannaya scanned the room, taking in all the skeptical looks on the faces of team before her. "I'm not asking you to like it. Hell, I'm not even asking you to _understand _it. … I'm just asking you to _do _it."


End file.
